Health secretary visits Hampshire (From Daily Echo)

Health secretary Andrew Lansley visits Winchester

12:00pm Thursday 9th February 2012 in Politics

HEALTH Secretary Andrew Lansley was today due to meet the new management team at Winchester hospital.

Mr Lansley is facing mounting public and professional hostility to the Government’s controversial health bill.

But the beleaguered Health Secretary took time out from pushing the reforms to visit the Royal Hampshire County Hospital and St Bede Church of England Primary School .

The visit comes just weeks after the RHCH was taken over by Basingstoke hospital bosses as it was unable to achieve foundation trust status on its own.

Mr Lansley accompanied by Winchester and Chandler’s Ford MP Steve Brine was due to meet senior managers at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust which now runs the RHCH, Andover War Memorial and Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital.

The Health Secretary was also scheduled to visit the stroke unit and have a private meeting with a consortium of GPs who will be in charge of local NHS budgets under the shake-up.